The science of a baby’s smile

Sandra Kiume over at ChannelN has a nice video of new research that uses babies smiles to track their development. Here’s what they say about it:

Babies smiling at their mothers, and vice versa, were studied for signs of healthy development using a video facial tracking system.

In one finding, at around six months of age a baby will start to look away from its mother if she’s not smiling at it, which indicates interest in its environment, a normal stage of development. A failure to respond in typical ways may be indicative of developmental disorders like autism, and early detection can lead to early intervention and better outcomes.